DISASTER

• A disaster can be defined as :-

“A serious disruption in the functioning of the community or a society causing
wide spread material, economic, social or environmental losses which exceed the
ability of the affected society to cope using its own resources”.

• The Disaster Management Act, 2005 defines disaster as

“A catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence in any area, arising from
natural or manmade causes, or by accident or negligence which results in
substantial loss of life or human suffering or damage to, and destruction of,
property or damage to, or degradation of, environment, and is of such a nature or
magnitude as to be beyond the coping capacity of the community of the affected
area”. 


• The United Nations defines disaster as

“The occurrence of sudden or major misfortune which disrupts the basic fabric
and normal functioning of the society or community”. 


HAZARD
Hazard may be defined as
“A dangerous condition or event that threat or have the potential for causing
injury to life or damage to property or the environment.”

Hazards can be grouped into two broad categories namely natural and manmade.

Natural hazards are hazards which are caused because of natural phenomena
(hazards with meteorological, geological or even biological origin). Examples of
natural hazards are cyclones, tsunamis, earthquake and volcanic eruption which are
exclusively of natural origin. Landslides, floods, drought, fires are socio-natural
 hazards since their causes are both natural and manmade. For example flooding
may be caused because of heavy rains, landslide or blocking of drains with human
waste.
Manmade hazards are hazards which are due to human negligence. Manmade
hazards are associated with industries or energy generation facilities and include
explosions, leakage of toxic waste, pollution, dam failure, wars or civil strife etc.

The list of hazards is very long. Many occur frequently while others take place
occasionally. However, on the basis of their genesis, they can be categorized as
follows.

1. Earthquake 2. Tsunami 3. Volcanic eruption 4. Landslide

Geological Hazards
Water & Climatic Hazards
Environmental Hazards:
Biological Hazards:
Chemical, Industrial and Nuclear
Accidents
Accident related:
5. Dam burst 6. Mine Fire
1. Tropical Cyclone 2. Tornado and Hurricane 3. Floods 4.
Drought 5. Hailstorm 6. Cloudburst 7. Landslide 8. Heat &
Cold wave

9. Snow Avalanche 10. Sea erosion
1. Environmental pollutions 2. Deforestation 3.
Desertification 4. Pest Infection
1. Human / Animal Epidemics 2. Pest attacks 3. Food
poisoning 4. Weapons of Mass Destruction
1. Chemical disasters 2. Industrial disasters 3. Oil spills/
Fires 4. Nuclear
1. Boat / Road / Train accidents / air crash Rural / Urban
fires Bomb /serial bomb blasts 2. Forest fires 3. Building
collapse 4. Electric Accidents 5. Festival related disasters
6. Mine flooding
VULNERABILITY
Vulnerability may be defined as :-
“The extent to which a community, structure, services or geographic area is likely to be
damaged or disrupted by the impact of particular hazard, on account of their nature,
construction and proximity to hazardous terrains or a disaster prone area.”

Vulnerabilities can be categorized into physical and socio-economic vulnerability.

Physical Vulnerability: It includes notions of who and what may be damaged or

destroyed by natural hazard such as earth- quakes or floods. It is based on the physical
condition of people and elements at risk, such as buildings, infrastructure etc; and their
proximity, location and nature of the hazard.

Socio-economic Vulnerability: The degree to which a population is affected by a hazard

will not merely lie in the physical components of vulnerability but also on the socio-
economic conditions. The socio- economic condition of the people also determines the
intensity of the impact. For example, people who are poor and living in the sea coast
don’t have the money to construct strong concrete houses. They are generally at risk and
lose their shelters whenever there is strong wind or cyclone. Because of their poverty
they too are not able to rebuild their houses.

CAPACITY
Capacity can be defined as :-
“Resources, means and strengths which exist in households and communities and which
enable them to cope with, withstand, prepare for, prevent, mitigate or quickly recover
from a disaster”.
Capacity refers to all the strengths, attributes and resources available within a community,
organization or society to manage and reduce disaster risks and strengthen resilience.

It is important to emphasize people’s capacity to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover
from disasters, rather than simply focusing on the vulnerability that limits them.


RISK
Risk is a “measure of the expected losses due to a hazard event occurring in a given area
over a specific time period.”
Risk is a function of the probability of particular hazardous event and the losses each
would cause.
The level of risk depends upon:
• Nature of the hazard
• Vulnerability of the elements which are affected
• Economic value of those elements 

A community/locality is said to be at ‘risk’ when it is exposed to hazards and is
likely to be adversely affected by its impact. Whenever we discuss ‘disaster
management’ it is basically ‘disaster risk management’. Disaster risk management
includes all measures which reduce disaster related losses of life, property or assets
by either reducing the hazard or vulnerability of the elements at risk. 


EXPOSURE 

Exposure refers to people, property, systems, or other elements present in hazard zones
that are thereby subject to potential losses.

The presence and number of people, property, livelihoods, systems or other elements in
hazard areas (and so thereby subject to potential losses) is known as exposure. Exposure
is one of the defining components of disaster risk 

If a hazard occurs in an area of no exposure, then there is no risk. The extent to which
exposed people or economic assets are actually at risk is generally determined by how
vulnerable they are, as it is possible to be exposed but not vulnerable.

RESILIENCE
“Resilire” (Latin word) - to bounce back

Engineering resilience - The time taken by a system to bounce-back from shocks
Disaster resilience is the ability of individuals, communities, organisations and states to
adapt to and recover from hazards, shocks or stresses without compromising long-term
prospects for development.
Disaster resilience is determined by the degree to which individuals, communities and
public and private organizations are capable of organizing themselves to learn from past
disasters and reduce their risks to future ones, at international, regional, national and local
levels.
Disaster resilience is part of the broader concept of resilience – ‘the ability of individuals,
communities and states and their institutions to absorb and recover from shocks, whilst
positively adapting and transforming their structures and means for living in the face of
long-term changes and uncertainty’
• Context: Whose resilience is being built – such as a social group, socio-economic
or political system, environmental context or institution 


• Disturbance: What shocks (sudden events like conflict or disasters) and/or stresses
(long-term trends like resource degradation, urbanization, or climate change) the
group aims to be resilient to. 


• Capacity to respond: The ability of a system or process to deal with a shock or

stress depends on exposure (the magnitude of the shock or stress), sensitivity (the
degree to which a system will be affected by, or will respond to, a given shock or
stress), and adaptive capacity (how well it can adjust to a disturbance or moderate
damage, take advantage of opportunities and cope with the consequences of a
transformation). 


• Reaction: A range of responses are possible, including:

✴ Bounce back better, where capacities are enhanced, exposures are
reduced, and the system is more able to deal with future shocks and
stresses;
✴ Bounce back, where pre-existing conditions prevail;
✴ Recover, but worse than before, meaning capacities are reduced.
✴ Worst-case scenario, the system collapses, leading to a catastrophic
reduction in capacity to cope with the future.
DISASTER MANAGEMENT CYCLE
Disaster Risk Management includes sum total of all activities, programmes and measures
which can be taken up before, during and after a disaster with the purpose to avoid a
disaster, reduce its impact or recover from its losses. The three key stages of activities
that are taken up within disaster risk management are:

1. Before a disaster (pre-disaster).

Activities taken to reduce human and property losses caused by a potential hazard. For
example carrying out awareness campaigns, strengthening the existing weak structures,
preparation of the disaster management plans at household and community level etc.
Such risk reduction measures taken under this stage are termed as mitigation and
preparedness activities.
2. During a disaster(disaster occurrence).

Initiatives taken to ensure that the needs and provisions of victims are met and suffering
is minimized.
Activities taken under this stage are called emergency response activities.
3. After a disaster (post-disaster)
Initiatives taken in response to a disaster with a purpose to achieve early recovery and
rehabilitation of affected communities, immediately after a disaster strikes. These are
called as response and recovery activities. In the subsequent chapters we would discuss in
detail some of the major hazards prevalent in our country its causes, impact, preparedness
and mitigation measures that need to be taken up.

Technical Prevention

Capacity Building
Rehabilitation

Damage assessment Emergency Planning

Disaster Preparedness
Preparedness measures include
• preparedness plans;
• emergency exercises/training;
• warning systems;
• emergency communications systems;
• evacuations plans and training;
 • resource inventories;
• emergency personnel/contact lists;
• mutual aid agreements;
• public information/education. 


Disaster Prevention
Disaster prevention is the outright avoidance of adverse impacts of hazards and related
disasters prevention (i.e. disaster prevention) expresses the concept and intention to
completely avoid potential adverse impacts through action taken in advance.
Disaster Mitigation
• Disaster Mitigation refers to measures taken to reduce the negative impacts of a
crisis or disaster.
• Mitigation does not completely prevent a disaster necessarily, but it does lessen the
severity of the disaster both before it starts and during the ordeal.
• Mitigation is defined as “sustained action that reduces or eliminates long-term risk
to people and property from natural hazards and their effects.”
• It describes the ongoing effort at the federal, state, local and individual levels to
lessen the impact of disasters upon our families, homes, communities and
economy.
Mitigation measures include:
• Hazard mapping
• Adoption and enforcement of land use and zoning practices
• Implementing and enforcing building codes
• Flood plain mapping
• Reinforced tornado safe rooms
• Raising of homes in flood-prone areas
• Disaster mitigation public awareness programs
• Insurance programs

Disaster Response
• Disaster responses are the set of activities taken during a disaster or immediately
following a disaster, directed towards saving life and protecting property.
• It includes medical care, evacuation, search and rescue, provision of emergency
water, food and shelter, debris removal and stabilisation of unsafe buildings and
landforms
• Disaster response is aimed at providing immediate assistance to maintain life,
improve health and support the morale of the affected population.
Factors that Determine the Nature of Disaster Response
• The type of disaster
• The ability to take pre-impact actions
• The severity and magnitude of disaster
• The capability of sustained operations
• Identification of likely response requirements


Disaster responses include actions that embrace the following:

• Search and rescue
• First aid and emergency medical care
• Evacuation
• Evacuation centre management
• Development of Standard Operation Procedure (SOPs)
• Immediate repair of community facilities and services
• Relief delivery
• Coordination and Communication
• Psycho-social counselling and stress debriefing
• Medical services

Disaster Damage Assessment
• Damage Assessment is the process for determining the nature and extent of the
loss, suffering, and/or harm to the community resulting from a natural, accidental
or human-caused disaster.
• Damage Assessment is a preliminary onsite evaluation of damage or loss caused by
an accident or natural event.
• Damage assessments record the extent of damage, what can be replaced, restored
or salvaged.
• It may also estimate the time required for repair, replacement and recovery.
• Damage assessment is an integral part of facilitating effective and efficient
response by government agencies and other organisations.
• Good damage assessment would start the ball rolling for effective response and
relief operations such as evacuation, sheltering, search and rescue, mass casualty
management, etc.

Four types of Damage Assessment may be considered:

• Initial Situation Overview (ISO)
• Initial Damage Assessment (IDA)
• Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis (DANA) and
• Damage and Loss Assessment (DALA).

Disaster Risk Reduction

It is the concept and practice of reducing disaster risks through systematic efforts to
analyse and reduce the causal factors of disasters.
• Reducing exposure to hazards,
• lessening vulnerability of people and property,
• wise management of land and the environment,
• improving preparedness for adverse events 

Early warning system
An integrated system of hazard monitoring, forecasting and prediction, disaster risk
assessment, communication and preparedness activities systems and processes that
enables individuals, communities, governments, businesses and others to take timely
action to reduce disaster risks in advance of hazardous events.

Four stages of Early Warning System,

Needs Assessment:
• Needs assessment is a process of estimating the financial, technical, and human
resources needed to implement the agreed-upon programmes of recovery,
reconstruction, and risk management.
• Post-damage needs assessment is normally a rapid, multi-sectoral assessment that
measures the impact of disasters on the society, economy, and environment of the
disaster-affected areas. 


Crisis counseling
Crisis counseling involves providing support and guidance to an individual or a
group of people such as a family or community during a crisis. The purpose of
crisis counseling is to decrease emotional pain, provide emotional support, make
sure that the person in crisis is safe, and help develop a plan for coping with the
situation. Sometimes it also involves connecting a person to other community or
health services that can provide long-term support.

Atmospheric Layers

Earth’s atmosphere has five major and several secondary layers. From lowest to highest,
the major layers are the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and
exosphere.
Earth Systems

There are five main systems, or spheres, on Earth.

The first system, the geosphere, consists of the interior and surface of Earth, both of
which are made up of rocks.
The limited part of the planet that can support living things comprises the second system;
these regions are referred to as the biosphere.
In the third system are the areas of Earth that are covered with enormous amounts of
water, called the hydrosphere.
The atmosphere is the fourth system, and it is an envelope of gas that keeps the planet
warm and provides oxygen for breathing and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis.
Finally, there is the fifth system, which contains huge quantities of ice at the poles and
elsewhere, constituting the cryosphere.
All five of these enormous and complex systems interact with one another to maintain the
Earth as we know it.

Geosphere
The geosphere includes the rocks and minerals on Earth – from the molten rock and
heavy metals in the deep interior of the planet to the sand on beaches and peaks of
mountains. The geosphere also includes the abiotic (non-living) parts of soils and the
skeletons of animals that may become fossilized over geologic time.
Hydrosphere
A hydrosphere is the total amount of water on a planet. The hydrosphere includes water
that is on the surface of the planet, underground, and in the air.
Biosphere
The biosphere is made up of the parts of Earth where life exists. The biosphere extends
from the deepest root systems of trees to the dark environment of ocean trenches, to lush
rain forests and high mountaintops.
Cryosphere
The cryosphere is the frozen water part of the Earth system.
Ice and snow on land are one part of the cryosphere. This includes the largest parts of the
cryosphere, the continental ice sheets found in Greenland and Antarctica, as well as ice
caps, glaciers, and areas of snow and permafrost. When continental ice flows out from
land and to the sea surface, we get shelf ice.
The other part of the cryosphere is ice that is found in water. This includes frozen parts of
the ocean, such as waters surrounding Antarctica and the Arctic. It also includes frozen
rivers and lakes, which mainly occur in polar areas.
Atmosphere
An atmosphere is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelope a planet, and is held in
place by the gravity of the planetary body.